Improvement in cotton-harvesters



' J.;GRIFFIN.

Cotton Harvester.

Patented Nov, 22, 1859.

ine/V701? UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JNO. GRIFFIN, or OUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

IMPROVEMENT IN CQTTO N-HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,180, dated November. 22,1859;

' To all whom it may concern: I

Be It knownthat I, JOHN GRIFFIN, of Louisto its work. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central ville, in the county of Jefl'erson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and Improved Cotton-Harvesting Device; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, makinga part of this specification, in which-- Figure l is a view' of my invention applied section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in thetwo figures. This invention relates to ani-mprovement on a machinefor picking or harvesting cotton by steam, for which Letters Patent were granted to mebearing date March 8, 1859.

The object of the within-described invention is to economizcin the application of the power used or expended in the operation of the machine. "ihis is effected by a novel arrangement hereinafter described, whereby an auxiliary or-helpingforce or power is obtained for detaching the cotton from the bolls.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and constrnctmyinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents an exhaust-tube, which should be of. ant-lastic or flexible substance inorder to admit of a facile manipulation of the same in apply ing the device to the bolls. This tube may be formed of several parts connected "by conical joints B,in order to admit of the ready attachment of branch tubes 0. These conical joints are simply tubes provided at one end with two teats, a, in order to allow two tubes to be attached, one tube being attached to the back part of each.

To the outer end of the tube A, and alsh to the end of each branch 0, a semi-spherical or othersuitable-shaped cap, D, is attached.

These caps may be of metal, and they are encompassed at their outer ends by annular chambers E, which communicate with the in-' terior ot the caps D by perforations b, which are made in a'spiral line, as shown in Fig, 2,

and which extend entirely. around the inner.

sides of the caps.

The back end f the tube 'A is connected to and communicates with a' steam-exhaust chamber, O, which may be arrangedin any proper way- -thesame, 'forinstance, as shown. in the 1 former patent granted to me and previously.

alluded to; or the tube A may be attached to a chamber, through which a current-of air "is forced rapidly in order to produce a suction o'r draw in the tubes A C--in short, a suction may be produced in the tubes- A O by any suitable means; I

To the annular chamber E of each cap -D a tube,,G, is attached. Th'ese tubes communicats at their inner,- ends'with a steam or compressed-air chambe'fl so that steam or air will be forced through-"the perforations into'the caps and towardtheirjbaclg ends, as indicated bythc arrows in Fig. 2,:the perforations being made obliquely through th'eisid'es of the caps to permit such result. I The'operation isas follows: One or more operators may be employed, according to the number of branch tubesused. Each operator" may hold two caps, presenting one with each hand to the bolls,-the cotton fromwhich is extracted by thesuction in the tubes, in addition to the force exerted against it by the-steamer air which is ejected through the perforations b Thislatter auxiliary force-in; detaching the cotton from the bolls is important, for after the bolls are once detached a comparatively small amount of pressure only is -required to force the cotton through the tubes into the receptacle prepared to receive i t,and t'owhiich;

the apparatus is attached. By thisauxiliaryforce or power, therefore, a smaller .pressure, and consequently a less perfectvacuum, is required in A, and a considerable saving will be efi'ectedin the operation of the niachinejT'he.

object of having the perforations b in a. spiral line is to effect a gradual detachment of the cottoufrom the'boll's-asthe caps are placed over them, and thereby guard against .the I choking or cloggingofthe tubes. f' v I/do not claima flexible suction-tubecon- L'nected with a cotton-receptacle and'arranged I so. as to pick or gather-cottonfromthe bolls, I

for such device has been used,-an'd'may be seen in the patent before-alluded to, anddatedf. 

